Andrew Breitbart's death sparks wild conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories claiming that President Obama killed conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart are making the rounds online. Breitbart was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center after he suddenly collapsed on a sidewalk near his home on Thursday.

Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart

Gage Skidmore

According to Examiner.com, within 27 hours of Breitbart's death, a Google search of the phrase "Obama killed Breitbart" yields a bewildering array of creative efforts to explain how the president killed the conservative blogger.

Conspiracy theorists on the right wing are sure who is responsible for Breitbart's death, but there are conflicting theories about how Obama's "goons" killed him.

William Schmalfeldt writing on Examiner.com , reports that the conspiracy theories are fueled by Breitbart's recent announcement at the recent CPAC rally that he had a college video of Obama that would "blow the lid off his presidency."

According to IB Times, Bretibart said a few weeks before he died: "I've got videos...from his college days, to show you why racial division and class warfare are central to what 'hope' and 'change' was sold in 2008...The rest of us slept while they plotted, and they plotted, and they plotted."

Paul Joseph Watson on Infowars.com, described Breitbart's death as "stunning coincidence." He said: "It appears Andrew Breitbart suffered his untimely death just hours before he was set to release damning video footage that could have sunk Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign."

Even though he later issued a statement that said: "We are not and have not said nor do we believe the death of Andrew Breitbart is the result of anything other than a believed heart attack," Conservative blogger Lawrence Sinclair referred to a conversation he had with Breitbart in Washington D.C., three weeks before his death, in which Brietbart said: "Wait till they see what happens March 1st." Sinclair also objected to "claims that Breitbart died of natural causes," saying that the claims "are the opinions of his attorney Joel Pollak and not the statements of any medical personnel from UCLA or the L.A. County Coroners office. L.A. Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Ed Winter says autopsy to be done tomorrow and no official cause of death has been determined."

Examiner quotes some tweets that reflect the pattern of rumor mongering: "@brandootr says, I don't believe for a minute Breitbart's death was natural. Remember, he said he had college video of Obama."

Another tweet said: "@mzagorski tweets, Call for a congressional hearing and investigation WHO KILLED BREITBART? Obama is a hit man with an army of parasites."

Examiner also quotes Chicago radio talk show host Mancow Muller's tweet: "@MancowMuller: He (Breitbart) told me RECENTLY he had big dirt on Obama. MANY believe it was murder!"

IB Times quotes a headline on Tea party Brief: "HIT JOB?" "Soros, Media Matters, 'Occupy', Obama, & ACORN can now breathe a sigh of relief..." Daily Paul has the title: "Andrew Breitbart Drops BOMB on Team Obama: 'I Got Video of Obama From College' - Then Dies of Natural Causes?"

IB Times, comments on the conspiracy theory scaremongering: "None of these sites feel it's necessary to offer proof of assassination beyond the fact that Breitbart is now dead and that he hated President Obama. That is the beauty of a conspiracy theory: it's so simple and effective, things like facts only serve to get in the way of the main message...[and] as each minute passes, the theories as to who ordered the 'hit job'...gets wilder and wilder."

And wilder and wilder they get indeed! IB Times reports some conspiracy theorists look to communist leader Joseph Stalin for a befitting comparison to Obama's "typical ordered hits." Examiner reports another refers to "an army of parasites" at obama's disposal to carry out his "hit orders," and called "for a congressional hearing and investigation WHO KILLED BREITBART?" Some others said Breitbart was possibly infected with cancer. A comment on IB Times compares Breitbart's death to that of Obama's grandmother in 2008: "Obama's grandmother died the day before the Presidential elections in 2008 while being visited by Obama. It was reported that she knew the truth about Obama's birth place. Now Andrew Breitbart is dead only weeks after he claimed to have tapes on Obama. Wake up America.... Evil is upon us."

The blog Weasel Zippers announced that the video Breitbart promised would be released in 7-10 days, but Schmalfeldt wonders why it should take so long to release a "raw video" that Breitbart had promised would end Obama's presidency. He wonders aloud: "If you had video that you knew would end the career of the most evil president America had ever known, would you hold on to it for a week to 10 days, or would you get Roger Ailes at Fox on the phone and say, 'We've got this tape that will blow the roof off of the White House?'"

There have been a rash of speculations too about the content of the tape Brietbart was about to release. Some have speculated the video would show obama smoking a "blunt," while others speak of "Obama's furry little Pakistani boyfriend," implying he had homosexual relationships. Another suggestion was that the tapes would show how Obama was radicalized by "people like Ayers/Dohrn. During his Harvard days." However, an Obama-killed-Brietbart conspiracy theorist, who would rather see Obama "with his Pakistani room wrestling-Greek style," did not think an "Obama-Ayers connection" video would be sufficiently damming to end Obama's presidency.

ABC News, in its report, counters the conspiracy theories making the rounds with the information that Briebart had a history of heart disease, but says the nature of the condition diagnosed last year is unknown. The website, however, quotes the advice of a cardiologist: "People who have had heart disease are at a higher risk of having further heart disease. It's tremendously important that after being diagnosed with heart disease, you have close follow-up with a cardiologist."

American Times also refers to reports about Brietbart's "erratic behaviour" and speculations that he had a "drinking problem."